With 400 Yelpers coming out last night to Yelp's High School Party – the first of its kind in Australia – it's official: Melbourne knows how to party.
There was plenty of space to move (silently or otherwise) thanks to our host Strike Bowling and lots of hidden corners to find a surprise or two. Not to mention… free bowling! Most Yelpers embraced the school spirit and uniformed up as students or teachers and those who ignored the dress code were given immediate detention.
Whimsy and unrealised dreams aside, Yelpers adorned uniforms to support our charity partner One Girl who helps provide education to girls in Sierra Leone. These fantastic folks were onhand all night running the cloak room (with coat hangers from ibag and racks from RackMan) and spreading the word about their upcoming Do It In A Dress campaign. It was great to see some blokes showing off their legs for this worthy cause.
High Schoolers have quite the appetite, so it's a good thing The Merrywell was in the Tuck Shop with soy duck summer rolls and grilled fish tacos. Not what you remember from your school days? Well Windsor Deli delighted Yelpers with their packed lunches – complete with homemade brownie, gourmet sandwich and a cheeky Redskin or two and Fugazza toasted hundreds of their light-as-air sandwiches. For the sweet-tooths in the crowd there was thick hot-chocolate and macarons from Little Feat and both full and miniature sized cupcakes from The Cupcake Queens. But the royal spoiling didn't stop there…
Magners Irish Cider provided both pear and apple cider in their new summer-friendly cans, Giesen kept the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir flowing and Miss Jayne from Two Birds Brewing worked the roomserving her Golden and Sunset Ales. For the Yelpers who partied harder than that back in the day, 666 Pure Tasmanian Vodka partnered up with Capi to provide a refreshing cocktail made from 666 Vodka, Capi Ginger Beer, Vanilla Bean Syrup and Lime. Served in gigantic Redd Cups, they went down a treat! Pure Energy kept everyone amped with their organic guarana infused fuel.
The nurses from Miss Fox came to our aid In the Sick Bay giving ladies (and some gents!) braids and pigtails, as well as colourful nail art. Paper Lashes adorned Yelper eyelids and had everyone fluttering their eyes in full flirt mode! Pana Chocolate kept our sugar levels steady with samples of their hand made and organic delights.
Then of course those little extras that really make a party come to life - an Art Room, a Kissing Corner some Impulse and Lynx in the bathrooms, official "note passers" and of course an amazing sponsor like San Francisco International Airport who offered up two return tickets to San Francisco for one lucky Yelper. Our winner Kevin S was randomly selected from a list of everyone who checked in at the event and he'll no doubt enjoy his upcoming excursion to the birth place of Yelp.
The Science Lab was full of discovery and wonder, as usual. Mark from Balderdash pulled out all of the third wave coffee trickery and Lord Coconut delighted Yelpers with his taxidermied animals, hand craft jewels and, a crowd favourite, a 3D printer that at one point was printing a replica of Yoda!
And, just when Yelpers thought they had seen it all, into the Laser Strike arena for some Silent Disco from Party Higher! Headphones on and tunned in to one of the three live DJs, Yelpers absolutely outdid themselves with some fabulous moves, honouring every shakable ounce of what their mumma gave them.
Before we knew it, it was time to move on to the after party, hosted over the road at Strike QV. With free karaoke and drinks specials, let's just say that many a Yelper may have wagged work today.
Thank you to all of our sponsors whose generosity made this a great celebration of all things Yelpy and Melbourne, and contributed to our stuffed goodie bags with additions from Eshu, Coast, Brasserie Bread, Hair Upstairs, Game Masters and Urban Importers. Thanks also to our wonderful Yelper helpers who helped maked this a terrific night – you know who you are!
A tweet said it best:
"So @YelpMelbourne decided to throw a party, on a Monday, high school themed and feed people packed lunches. Pretty rad. #yelphigh" – @IvanVanderbyl
Yup, that's how we roll here at Yelp. Consider yourself schooled, Melbourne.
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We throw parties every month for our Elite Squad – want more details?
Until next time students, class dismissed!
SYOY! (See You On Yelp)
